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Saturday, July 8, 2017

Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev
Chandrasekhar wrote to the Defence Minister regarding the Government’s order
dated 29 June 2017 on implementation of orders of Hon’ble Courts/AFT’s in
Neither Attributable to Nor Aggravated (NANA) by service cases.

In his letter to the
Defence Minister he welcomed the move and the landmark step taken by the
Narendra Modi Government that will benefit thousands of soldiers who have
suffered disability died because of a disability while in service.

“The Committee of
Experts submitted its report in November 2015 with 75 recommendations and
despite the then Raksha Mantri giving his go ahead for implementing the
recommendations in August 2016, there has been no action taken on its
implementation till date.” MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

Recalling the DESW
Memo of 02 January 2014, which stated the department would appeal automatically
in six categories of disability , Chandrasekhar said he had taken up the matter
strongly with then Hon’ble Raksha Mantri Shri A K Antony and after his interventions,
the Minister had withdrawn the instructions.

Despite the former
Hon’ble Raksha Mantri Shri. Manohar Parrikar decision in January
2015, not to pursue nearly 4,000 disability pension cases pending against the
Ministry of Defence in courts, in April 2016 new instructions were issued by
the DESW to again automatically file appeals in all cases pertaining to
disability pensions and benefits, Chandrasekhar wrote in his letter to the
Defence Minister.

“I had urged the then
Raksha Mantri to put in place a system of audits to ensure genuine cases of
disabled soldiers and their families do not suffer long painful legal battles”
Rajeev said.

PM Modi in the past
had expressed the need to minimise litigation, stop frivolous appeals and to
strengthen the Armed Forces Tribunals which had led to the constitution of the
Raksha Mantri’s Committee of Experts for reduction of litigation in the
Ministry of Defence and strengthening of mechanisms of redressal of grievances
in July 2015.

CopyCat is an adware
(a malware that injects ads on victims device to generate revenue) that
affected over 14 million Android users in the span of 2 months. It raked over
$1.5 million via fraudulent app installations and advertising with peak
activity during April & May 2016.

How did CopyCat
malware spread?

Unlike older adwares,
CopyCat spread via 3rd party app stores and standard phishing attacks. With
increased security checks in the Google Play, the architects of CopyCat chose
not to host it on the official market.

How does CopyCat work?

CopyCat once installed
from a 3rd party app store or a phishing campaign. injected advertisements in
the browsers and other applications of a victim's device and when the victim
clicked them, it earned money.

Moreover, after
installation, the malware fetched information about the device and used
specific exploits to root (A process where an app gains highest available
privileges allowing it to alter the core architecture of the device) the
victim's device. This allowed CopyCat to further install rootkits to make
itself persistent in the victim's phone.

After gaining root
access, the malware could then install fraudulent apps, monitor app
installations and app launches to display targeted ads and altered the
refer-install mechanism to steal the installation revenue.

All this was done via
infecting the Android Zygote Daemon(A service in Android devices that is
responsible for launching apps on the device). This allowed the attacker
complete access to the victim's device.

CopyCat used several
exploits, including CVE-2013-6282 (VROOT), CVE-2015-3636 (PingPongRoot), and
CVE-2014-3153 (Towelroot) to infect devices running Android 5.0 and lower,
which is although very old but widely used.

What was the impact of
CopyCat?

CopyCat infected over
14 million devices out of which, 8 million were rooted ie complete high
privileged access. Out of these 8 million, 3.8 million devices were infected
with adware and 4.4 million were used to steal credit card information.

In this span of 2 months,
it earned over $1.5 million via fraud app installations & displaying over
100 million advertisements.

European leader in the field of sanitary
technology and bathroom ceramics, Geberit has announced at a meet that it has
successfully installed One Million Concealed Cisterns across
residential and commercial properties in India.

Talking on the occasion Abubaker Koya,
Managing Director, India shared “Concealed Cisterns were a new concept to India
when we entered the market. From addressing the fear of how hidden
cisterns would work, to practising the concept of water and space saving
benefits, the team had to articulate and educate both the trade partners and
end customers.”

“We have come a long way since and
are today proudly celebrating the one million installation of the same system
across industries from IT parks, Malls to Manufacturing plants and of course hi
end residential building. We enjoy the patronage of leading Indian corporates
and developers across the country,” Koya added.

“Geberit in India (as a fully owned
subsidiary) started in 2010 with its headquarters in Bangalore and a production
facility for concealed cisterns in Pune. The company has since followed
the Constraint based Product Innovation - best of modern technology, design and
India’s mind-set in designing products exclusively for Indian customers.” said Koya.

Geberit products are available across
the length and breadth of India with over 1500 dealers and distributors in its
network. While Geberit forayed into India with concealed cisterns and piping
(behind the wall) products, the company has moved on to ‘in front of the wall’
products viz. Mera Shower Toilets, Urinals, Sensor Taps etc.

“The sanitaryware industry size in India
is about Rs 15,000 crores and the space Geberit operates is in about half of
it, very specifically at the premium end of the segment. Interestingly the
Sanitary Industry in particular, has kept pace with the reality industry (real
estate) growth in India at about 10-15% per annum. However, the premium segment
within this, where companies like Geberit are major players, has grown at a
higher rate >20% per annum.”

“Within the toilets segment, one is
seeing a major shift to wall-hung toilets. Due to this change, the new flushing
systems (concealed cisterns) market is evolving in a big way and Geberit is a
major player in that area today,” said Koya.

Talking about their community outreach
initiatives, Koya said “Geberit has helped establish India's first Plumbing Lab
in Pune and works with institutions to create customized learning and knowledge
sharing programmes.”

Small
and midsize
businesses (SMBs) will get access to the cloud solutions and resources they
need to power digital transformation with the opening of Oracle’s first Digital
Hub in Asia Pacific, which will be
based in Bangalore.
The new facility, one of five Digital Hubs set to open in Asia Pacific,
highlights Oracle’s commitment to better serving the midsize market in the new
cloud economy. India’s new Digital Hub, part of a global network of best
practice centres for SMBs, will help small and midsize
businesses leverage Oracle Cloud solutions to streamline operations, boost
innovation and gain a platform for growth.

The hub will house Oracle’s new digital
sales team and focus on helping more midsize organisations transition to the
cloud quickly and easily. With a distinctive Indian feel, and exuding the
energy of a start-up, the team will provide timely, personalised and effective
support to customers, using the latest collaboration tools, techniques and
technologies to transform the buying experience.

François Lançon, senior vice president,
Oracle Japan and Asia Pacific, said: “The cloud is democratising IT; you just
need a web browser or a mobile phone app to take advantage of it. What’s
more, it has incredible transformation potential for small businesses, enabling
them to do things they have never been able to do before, at an affordable
price, such as use technology to streamline business processes, gain access to
an easy-to-use platform for innovation, and digitise their customer experience.
We are simplifying the buying process to help these smaller organisations, as
well as branch offices and line of business departments, digitally transform
their business.”

Customers that want to buy entirely
online can utilise the click-to-buy Oracle Accelerated
Buying Experience. In addition to the simplified buying experience, Oracle’s Digital Hubs
will provide a complete suite of cloud applications, platform, and infrastructure
services as both standalone services and as bundles. The range of choices
empowers small businesses to select solutions that directly address their goals
or issues.

Vivek Vinayak Purekar, vice president
and global HR head, Simeio Solutions, said, “We’re constantly trying to reduce
operational costs by automating our processes so that we can focus more on our
core business, and Oracle understands this very well. The Oracle HCM cloud
solution has completely transformed our HR engine to match our fast growth and
has given us the freedom to do more with less. It has helped us achieve the
right blend of process modernisation and increased efficiencies. The analytics
that come embedded enabled us to gain the right insights to drive more
contextual collaboration and engagement, and make faster and better operational
decisions.”

Yathindra Banappa, managing director,
Amego, said, “Amego is India’s first logistical assistance company for medical
emergencies on the go. We wanted to implement a scalable, flexible cloud
platform that can be accessed from anywhere across the country. With Oracle
Mobile Cloud Service, we’ve enabled more than 50,000 people, with one click
access, to automatically log medical emergency requests and get approvals on
the go. Customers can avail our services whether online or offline, even from
far-flung hospitals and pharmacies with no internet connectivity. Going
forward, we intend to leverage Oracle’s Intelligent Chatbot offering to deliver
greater ease of access and a superior, more intuitive experience to customers.”

The complete package

Shailender Kumar, vice president and
regional managing director, Oracle India, said: “There are over 51 million SMBs
in India, many of whom haven’t worked with Oracle or used cloud before.
They now have access to the most modern solutions in the market, available
online, direct via the hub and through our expanded end-to-end ecosystem,
working with the vast network in India. The increased choice in cloud
technology will help accelerate SMB’s ability to innovate and grow more
quickly, paving the way for the next big SMB revolution in the country.
This solid investment reiterates our strong commitment to India.”

Praveen Bhadada, partner and practice
head – Digital, Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd., said, “With nearly 40
percent contribution to India’s GDP, the SMB sector forms the backbone of the
Indian economy. Technology enablement of SMBs is expected to further add $1.1
Tn to the GDP and over $250 Bn to exports from India. Technology advancements,
particularly around cloud, are playing a key role in helping small businesses
to upgrade their operations, launch innovative products and services and expand
their reach. Tools that make it easier for these organisations to adopt cloud
and are compatible with local business needs will certainly be welcomed.”

The Digital Hub’s work with SMBs
complements the Oracle Startup Cloud
Accelerator Programme, which aims to fuel cloud-enabled innovation among startups around the
globe. Following the success of the pilot program in Bangalore, Oracle recently
expanded locations across the globe, including opening two new centres in
Delhi–NCR and Mumbai to provide mentorship and technology resources to local
startups.

Salman Khan’s Being Human E-Cycle has announced its partnership
with Amazon.in to launch online exclusively on Prime Day. The products will be
exclusively available to Prime members from 6 pm on Monday, July
10.

To be launched in two different models – BH12 and BH27, Being
Human E Cycle is a hybrid between battery and manual human power. These cycles
have a pedal assist and rechargeable batteries providing customers with the
freedom to cycle or ride like a bike at their discretion. Priced at Rs 40,323
and Rs 57,577 respectively, BH12 and BH27 can reach a speed of max 25km/hr for
a unique riding experience.

Commenting on the exclusive launch on Prime Day, Atul Gupta,
Chief Executive Officer, Being Human E-Cycle said “Being Human E-cycle
illustrate a responsible choice for shaping our future, a quality that
resonates with dynamic, tech-savvy and new-age Prime members. Prime Day is a special day created for these
customers, making it a perfect platform for us to launch Being Human E-cycle.
We look forward to a successful Prime Day on Amazon.in.”

Akshay Sahi, Director & Head, Amazon Prime, India added, “Prime brings to members the
best of Amazon with unlimited free fast delivery, ad-free video streaming,
exclusive selection & deals, and much more. Prime Day gives Prime members
30 hours of exciting shopping with great deals & exclusive launches across
a wide range of categories, with new deals being added all through the day. We are delighted to partner with the highly
popular Being Human brand to exclusively offer their E-cycles to Prime members
for India’s first Prime Day.”

BH 12 and BH27 are made from premium-quality, sturdy and
lightweight steel frames that have been specifically developed for extra
stability and rigidity. Both wheels of the Being Human E-Cycle are equipped
with mechanical disc brakes and come with adjustable front suspension to ensure
a smooth ride. The cycles are equipped with bright LED lights as the main focus
remains on stability and safety along with the use of superior quality
products.

To the cyclists and absolute newcomers, the E-Cycle represents an
exciting adventure that expands horizons, both individually and as a group. For
those who love their bikes, it represents a new form of sporting enjoyment and
even for those pursuing a modern and open-minded lifestyle, the Being Human
E-cycle represents the perfect means of transportation.

EljayInfratech has announced the entry of the
mouth-watering brand of sheer pleasurable indulgence - Patissez, for the first
time in India. After causing a massive worldwide sensation with its trademarked
wonder - The Freak Shakes, Australia’s trendiest Bistro, Patissez, has formally
joined hands with EljayInfratech, the Master Franchise, to expand its freaky universe
in the Indian subcontinent. Patissez is eyeing to satisfy foodies in Jaipur,
Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai and other major cities of the
country, in the months to come.

Patissez has now
set its sights on the dynamic, multi-cuisine capital of the world- India.
Indian Connoisseurs can expect Freak Shakes like the Pretzella, Muddy Pat, Bano
Freak, Fruity Freak and so on, as well as savoury items like Freak Burgers, and
Freakfast.

“The
transformation of the new age retail landscape in India with the F&B
industry sharing a third of the expected growth rate of US$ 1.3 trillion by
2020, has opened up a plethora of opportunities in the F&B space. With
hanging out in Café joints &Restobars becoming the latest trend amongst the
younger masses, there has been a sudden surge in the F&B industry not only
in metros, but in first & second tier cities across the country. This
healthy trend has positioned the F&B industry as one of the most
sought-after investment spaces today, and has inspired Eljay to take the
Patissez plunge”, says EljayInfratech’s partner and second generation
entrepreneur, Shreyas Asthana.

Asthana also added “Eljay has been into food
retailing for a decent number of years now. With the support of some
internationally-acclaimed experienced hands in the F&B industry, we have
taken a giant stride by bringing Patissez to India. Patissez has been the
pioneer of the Freak Shakes. We are thrilled to be associated with the brand
and are keen on covering the length and the breadth of the country very soon”.

“By the last quarter of 2018, Eljay aims to open
Patissez outlets across major cities in the country”.EljayInfratech, being the
Master Franchise is open to sub-franchisees who can be our trust points to
establish Patissez’s legacy in the subcontinent” says A.Amit, EljayInfratech’s

VMware, Inc., a global leader in cloud infrastructure and
business mobility, announced that the 14th annual VMworld 2017 U.S. will be
held Aug. 27-31 in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. A
couple weeks later, the 10th annual VMworld 2017 Europe will return to Fira
Barcelona Gran Via Sept. 11-14 in Barcelona.

Designed for the visionaries driving digital transformation in
the workplace, VMworld 2017 will empower attendees to be the change makers of
their organization by fostering unlimited possibilities to learn, connect and
innovate in the world of IT and business. The four-day event will feature
general session keynotes by industry thought leaders, hundreds of user-centric
panels and sessions, certification trainings and labs on industry hot
topics such as Unified Endpoint Management, Hyper-Converged Infrastructure,
Cloud Management and Services, Network Virtualization, and the Internet of
Things.

At VMworld 2017, attendees will be able to:

·Hear keynotes from industry thought leaders
and VMware executives on what matters most in IT today, and what's coming next

·Meet face-to-face with subject matter experts
who bring new perspectives to pain points and opportunities

·Network with VMware's partner ecosystem,
industry leaders, and other IT movers and shakers -- a "who's who" in
digital business

·Discover new and emerging product
breakthroughs, best practices, and case studies

Bosch Household Appliances, Europe’s
largest home appliances brand renowned for their superior quality and German
engineering launched a national media Campaign for their new range of washing
machines. Bosch’s Speed Range washing machines have first-of-its-kind
technology for a faster wash less than 60 minutes, available from 6 to 9 kg
laundry products.

From extensive surveys and research
conducted by Bosch team, one key insight developed was that most Indian
consumers wished to reduce time doing laundry and instead focus on spending
their time pursuing hobbies and recreational activities. Designed with
varioDrum Technology, with unique wave droplet design, the new Speed Range from
Bosch has special wash programs and wash options. It is specially customised
keeping in mind the Indian customers’ unique needs.

Speaking on this occasion, Gunjan Srivastava, MD & CEO, BSH
Household Appliances Manufacturing Pvt. Ltdsaid, ‘We believe
in addressing the customer feedback with innovation in technology. Our latest
SpeedPlus and SpeedProfessional range of washing machines eliminates up to 65%
of the washing time one invested without compromising on wash quality.

He added, “We have also ensured that
the consumers get the best after sales service. The entire installation of the
appliance would be done by trained professionals from Bosch.. We also offer
competitive costs for extended warranty and spare parts. In case any part of
the appliance is damaged accidently or malfunctions at a later stage of usage,
it can be replaced as the spare parts are available for 10 years.”

Bosch is at present Europe’s leading
household appliance brand that defines superior German technology which
facilitates convenience. Bosch Home Appliances is committed to creating some of
the world’s best household appliances that offer world class energy
efficient and water saving features.

The above range of washing machines are validated by the ‘WFK Cleaning
and Technology Research Institute’.

Cloudera, Inc., the leading provider of the
modern platform for machine learning and advanced analytics, announced that YES
BANK, one of India’s largest private sector banks, has adopted Cloudera Enterprise Data Hub to develop customized
campaigns for consumers throughout their customer journeys. Cloudera Enterprise
empowers YES BANK to transform their growing volumes of transactional and
customer data from their digital services into clear and actionable insights by
using real-time analytics and machine learning.

Banking,
Financial Service and Insurance (BFSIs) across the region are struggling to
keep pace with the vast amount of customer data that they collect in today’s
consumer-centric mobile economy.With Cloudera Enterprise, BFSIs like YES BANK
can now mine large volumes of data from financial transactions and create
machine learning algorithms to support information-driven business decisions
and revenue growth.

“Cloudera Enterprise is now the bedrock of our company’s digital strategy. With
its successful track record of working with several other leading BFSIs across
the globe, YES BANK decided to deploy a modern platform to provide a
differentiated digital experience for our customers through intelligent, real
time analytics.”

Today,
YESBANK issuing big data and analytics to cross-sell and up-sell opportunities
for the business, while providing a customized experience for consumers across
the bank’s digital channels and identifying and rectifying any inconveniences
during the customer journey.

With
the growing risk of cyberattacks,BFSIs also recognize the
importance of a safe and secure data management platform that is compliant with
the latest industry regulations. Cloudera Enterprise enables YES BANK to reduce
the cost of compliance in today’s digital age and transform existing processes
through machine learning and predictive modelling, eliminating risk and
detecting fraud faster and smarter by utilizing massive amounts of data to
effectively train their systems.

“BFSIs
today are competing to create enhanced products in a world where consumers are
demanding the most convenient and customized journeys. As such, business
leaders are pressured to keep up with the latest technology solutions to
deliver unparalleled experiences for their customers,” said Mark Micallef, vice
president, Asia Pacific and Japan at
Cloudera. “Cloudera empowers BFSIs like YES BANK with a scalable and secure
data analytics and machine learning platform to use data in ways not possible
before and enables organizations to derive business insights for revenue
growth, all while maintaining a high standard of security and ensuring
compliance to industry regulations.”

“Bengaluru is one of the world’s biggest digital hubs and the
state of Karnataka is the destination for innovation and technology. An event
like the Global Mobile Apps Summit and Awards (GMASA) being held in the city
reaffirms this truth,” said Priyank Kharge, Karnataka Minister for IT-BT and
Tourism.

In his inaugural address at opening of the two-day Global
Mobile Apps Summit and Awards 2017 (GMASA2017), the fifth edition of the global
event, at Hotel Sheraton Grand in the city on Thursday, he said the state
government is taking concrete steps to strengthen the ecosystem for nurturing
technology startups including mobile app companies.

He said the government has the startup policy to stimulate
the spirit of entrepreneurship. The government has set up Rs 400-crore fund to
accelerate 100 startups from each sector. “The only objective is to help
startups succeed. We provide all support including idea validation, legal help,
access to funds and mentorship. Karnataka is the only state to set up an
exclusive fund to support companies that are into animation and gaming,” Kharge
said.

“Over the next three years, the global app economy with be
worth US$3.1 trillion and India is the fourth largest app economy. The country
has overtaken the US in terms of the highest downloads of mobile apps from the
Play Store. The Government of Karnataka is at the forefront of this revolution
by adopting mobile technology to deliver services to the people.” the minister
said, underling his government’s mobile-first policy.

Giving an example, he said the Karnataka State Tourism
Development Corporation (KSTDC) is building a comprehensive travel app to
showcase all tourist destinations in the state. People can book guided tours
simply by using the KSTDC app, and the service would be delivered at their
doorstep.

Welcoming Priyank Kharge on to the stage, C R Venkatesh,
Chairman, GMASA, thanked all the sponsors and partners for extending great
support for the success of the grand event. He said this edition of GMASA is
receiving 1,600 participants including mobile app developers, marketers,
managers and executive from some of the best companies around the world. The
event is being supported by 19 corporate partners and 12 sponsors.

With the keynote address, the two-day GMASA began on a grand
note. The event comprises a number of panel discussions and keynote addresses
from industry experts and professionals, besides an exhibition by app
developers and companies. It will conclude on Friday evening with a musical
event featuring artists Adrea Jeremiah and Vedanth Bharadwaj.

The previous edition
of GMASA 2017 was successfully held in January this year in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

GirnarSoft, leaders in the online automobile market in India and
parent company of leading portals CarDekho, Gaadi, and Zigwheels has
successfully completed 10 years of operations. The company has grown to reach
consolidated revenue of US$17.5 million in FY2017.

Beginning its journey in 2007, GirnarSoft is the brainchild of
two IIT grads Amit and Anurag Jain, brothers who realized the need for an
evolved user experience in the auto search space thus giving birth to India’s
leading auto focused portal, CarDekho. Since then, CarDekho.com has been
credited with revolutionizing the auto search space by providing end-to-end
solutions. The company has not only created a niche positioning for itself as
an industry expert but has also established itself as a complete ecosystem for
consumers, car manufacturers, dealers and related businesses across the
country.

Over the years, GirnarSoft, under Amit and Anurag’s guidance and
with the support of a well experienced team has built itself as a brand
synonymous with superior quality in automobile search and lead generation
business in the country. The company successfully ventured into new businesses
like BikeDekho, PriceDekho, TrucksDekho, TyreDekho, CollegeDekho, with
investments from veterans like Mr. Ratan Tata, Google Capital and Sequoia
Capital. Post the acquisition of Gaadi.com and Zigwheels.com; from
Naspers and Times Internet in the year 2014 and 2015 respectively, the company
also acquired 6 more start-ups in 2016, making it the number one player in the
segment.

Commenting on the milestone, Amit Jain, CEO and
Co-Founder, Girnar Soft Pvt. Ltd. said, “Ever since its
inception, we have strived to establish CarDekho as a one-stop-destination for
everyone interested in purchasing a car. It is our pleasure to announce that
within a decade of its operations, CarDekho has managed to not just become a
trusted name amongst consumers but also an acknowledged industry expert. We are
focused on providing superior customer experience and availing them
comprehensive solutions for their needs. The growth of our brand is a testimony
of our quality and hard work, and we are confident that in the years to come
CarDekho will be able scale much greater heights.”

Today, CarDekho is one of the most sought after sites for latest
news and views in the world of automobiles, receiving 40 million unique monthly
visitors and 225 million monthly page-views.

CarDekho.com is a flagship portal of Girnar Software Pvt. Ltd.
founded in March 2008. CarDekho.com is today India’s most popular and leading
auto portal catering to the aspiring buyers, the proud owners, the auto
enthusiasts and die-hard fans and dealers of cars across the country. The
company acquired Gaadi.com, Zigwheels.com, Buying IQ and Drishya360s. The auto
portals together draw close to 40 million visits per month. The company
concluded its Series B funding in Jan 2015, picking up US$50 million from two
Hong Kong-based investors Hillhouse and Tybourne besides existing investor
Sequoia. Google Capital invested in the company in March 2016. It also bagged
funding from Mr. Ratan Tata and one of the largest banks HDFC. GirnarSoft is
now valued at US$400 million. The group’s vision is to be a multi-billion
dollar company by 2021 with global footprint.

Pitney
Bowes, a global technology company that provides innovative products and
solutions to power commerce, has once again been honored as one of India’s Best Companies to Work For 2017 by The
Economic Times. This is the seventh time in the past ten years Pitney
Bowes has been recognized by the Best Companies to Work For Survey, India’s
largest and most comprehensive survey of workplace culture. In India, the
global technology company has offices in Noida, Pune, Gurgaon and Bangalore.

“Our
culture of innovation is based on our values which are simply that we do the
right thing, the right way,” said Johnna Torsone, Executive Vice President and
Chief Human Resources Officer, Pitney Bowes. “We are honored to be named by
the Economic Times to this prestigious list. We know that our
ability to attract and retain talent in India’s competitive technology
environment is a credit to our winning culture.”

Manish Choudhary, Senior Vice
President, Global Innovation and Managing Director of India Operations, Pitney
Bowes Inc. said, “This honor by the Great Place to Work List for a seventh year
marks yet another milestone of our digital transformation. Our people are our
greatest asset and it is rewarding to see our culture recognized once again in
this prestigious survey. ”

Knight Frank India has launched the seventh edition of its flagship
half yearly report - India Real Estate. It presents a comprehensive
analysis of the residential and office
market performance of Bengaluru for the period January – June 2017 (H1 2017).

Residential Takeaways:

·Bengaluru
residential market continued to be restrained in H1 2017 and witnessed a
marginal increase of 5% in new launches and 4% in sales over the figures in H2
2016

·Despite the slight
improvement, the number of new launches in H1 2017 lagged behind H1 2016 by 42%and sales lagged by 19% during the
same period

·Factors such as RERA, demonetisation hangover and considerable unsold
stock played a major role
in constricting the market

·A significant chunk of new
launches in H1 2017 lies in the INR 25-50 lakh range, a welcome development
given the government’s focus on the affordable housing sector

·South Bengaluru
continues to lead in both new launches and sales, courtesy its healthy
congregation of large IT hubs, and is preferred by both the local populace and
expatriate population.

·Tepid growth in the IT/ITes sector, stiff competition from other cities and
a dearth of ready office spaces are some of the major factors leading to the dip
in transactions

·While IT/ITeSsector continued to drive Bengaluru office market in H1
2017, a prominent development observed during this period is the quantum of
office space taken up by co-working space operators

·Vacancy rates, which had been declining steadily over the years owing
to consistent transactions and restrained new completions, continued on its
downward movement and are presently at 4%

·The ORR office market, which has been struggling in the past few
quarters on account of dearth of ready to occupy space, saw its share increase
in H1 2017 owing to a slew of big ticket transactions

Speaking about the findings,Shantanu Mazumder, Director – Bengaluru said,“Until recently recognized as one of the most resilient residential
markets in the country, today the market is reeling under pressure. However,
things have started looking up slightly in 2017 and although the figures are
still restrained, marginal improvements were observed in the number of new
launches and sales at 5% and 4% respectively in H1 2017 on a YoY basis. A
significant chunk of new launches in H1 2017 lies in the INR 25-50 lakh range,
a welcome development given the government’s focus on the affordable housing
sector. Moreover, the inclusion of Bengaluru in the Smart City list is expected
to have a far reaching impact on the residential market in the forthcoming
years, as that would lead to improved infrastructure in the city. This would,
in turn, add to the overall attractiveness and brand image of Bengaluru as a
residential market.

On the office market front, 5.8 mnsqft of transactions
depict a slight dip, signalling moderate activity compared to previous years. This
decline could mainly be attributed to dearth of ready office spaces that
forestalled potential occupiers looking to expand. Another factor is the tepid
growth the IT/ITeS sector - the key demand driver of the office market in
Bengaluru. Having matured over the years the sector stands on a bigger base
today thereby limiting the scope for remarkable expansion that was witnessed earlier.
On the new completions front, the city witnessed the infusion of 3.7 mnsqft of
office space in H1 2017, whichis slightly better than the quantum of new completions
in H2 2016. However, this figure is considerably less in proportion to the
demand observed in the recent periods. While the IT/ITeS share is gradually
reducing due to the advent of newer service sectors, take up of space by
co-working companies is a trend to watch out for.”

Cyient, a
global provider of engineering, manufacturing, geospatial, network and
operations management solutions, announced that it has signed a non-exclusive
business alliance agreement with Kii Corporation, a leading Internet of Things
(IoT) solutions enablement platform provider, to explore, bid and address
business opportunities around smart city deployments.

Through this agreement,
Cyient and Kii have decided to jointly pursue business opportunities globally,
by leveraging their complementing skills and strengths. The partnership will
combine Cyient’s domain expertise and geospatial capabilities with
Kii’sIoT platform to develop connected solutions through smart devices and
applications. Under the terms of the agreement, Cyient will also provide
Kii with project delivery and implementation services.

Expressing confidence in the
partnership, Sanjay Sahay, Vice President, Cyient said,“I
am delighted that we have partnered with Kii Corporation. Kii’s IoT
platform will enable Cyient to create innovative solutions and better address
smart city requirements for our clients. I look forward to a long and mutually
rewarding association with Kii.”

Paul Barron, Associate Vice
President - Partners & Alliances of Cyient said,“Together,
Kii and Cyient will provide a unique offering to optimize smart city asset
management systems. I am excited at the opportunities this brings to our
customers.”

Cyientprovides engineering,
manufacturing, geospatial, network and operations management services to global
industry leaders. Cyient leverages the power of digital technology and advanced
analytics capabilities, along with domain knowledge and technical expertise, to
solve complex business problems. As a Design, Build and Maintain partner,
Cyient takes solution ownership across the value chain to help clients focus on
their core, innovate, and stay ahead of the curve.

Relationships
form the core of how Cyient works. With nearly 14,000 employees in 21
countries, Cyient partners with clients to operate as part of their extended
team, in ways that best suit their organization’s culture and requirements.
Cyient’s industry focus includes aerospace and defense, medical,
telecommunications, rail transportation, semiconductor, utilities, industrial,
energy and natural resources.